This is a common question at an initial consultation.

So is the flip side – how much will I have to pay in child support?

The custodial parent will naturally want to make sure the payment is enough to absorb the cost of being the primary parent. The noncustodial parent may have limited resources for meeting all their obligations and has to make sure everything is fair and accounted for.

Connecticut uses Child Support Guidelines that are designed to:

  • Provide uniform procedures to establish adequate support for children;
  • Make awards fair across the board; and
  • Promote efficiency in court.

The notion behind the Guidelines is that a child should receive the same proportion of a parent’s income as they would have received if the parents lived together. After all, it is not the child’s decision that the parents live apart by virtue of divorce or for other reasons.

Makes sense.

Here’s how it works.

Child support in Connecticut is calculated using Child Support Guidelines. The parents plug in their gross incomes into worksheets. Certain deductions are allowed to arrive at a net figure. The parents combined net amount is then carried over to a chart to determine the presumed weekly child support payment. The payment gradually increases as the number of children increase.

However, there are unique situations that may justify a deviation from the formula. Therefore, Connecticut law grants a judge the discretion to set a higher or lower support number based on “deviation criteria.” This is where an attorney can be most beneficial.

 

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